Tom Michael

Tom Michael joined Boise State Public Radio in 2016 as General Manager. As the executive director of the radio network, he is responsible for its management and leadership.

Tom arrives from West Texas with more than a decade of experience in public media management as the founder of Marfa Public Radio. He built the radio network from the ground-up, expanding its broadcast coverage area to a size equivalent of South Carolina. He launched a daily public affairs show, a weekly science show, and other unique programs.

He was also the chief fundraiser, helping to attract millions in grant funding and member donations to the rural region. In 2015 and 2016, his News Department won 8 regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, the most in the nation among small stations; plus a National Murrow Award in 2016.

Tom speaks at national media conferences and has participated on review panels for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, including "The Future of Public Media" in 2015, a gathering of thought-leaders in journalism.

Ways to Connect

Idaho cities in the path of the total solar eclipse on August 21 are preparing to host hundreds of viewing parties. Some cities are more accustomed to welcoming tourists, like Sun Valley.

Courtney Gilbert, from the Sun Valley Center for the Arts in Ketchum, explained, "Hotels started selling out about two years ago. The city of Ketchum is partnering with the city of Sun Valley to organize a day of activities that will take place in Festival Meadows."

It’s Mid-May, I’m at the Boise airport, hopping in a Cessna with pilot Don Reiman and Kevin Lewis, the director of Idaho Rivers United. We’re going to “fly the flood,” to see what the swollen rivers and reservoirs look like from the air, especially along the Boise and Big Wood rivers.

There has been months of flooding on Idaho rivers, with a reservoir system that’s been straining at capacity, as the deep winter snowpack has slowly melted off. Now, in the second half of June, the floodwaters are receding.

Invisibilia is back for a third season on Boise State Public Radio. Broadcast on Saturdays at 1 p.m., the NPR program uses creative storytelling to investigate human behavior.

Tom Michael spoke with the program hosts, Alix Spiegel and Hannah Rosin, who try to make science relatable. He began by asking Spiegel if she had ever interviewed anyone who seemed completely un-relatable.

This past winter Southern Idaho experienced one of its snowiest and coldest on record. So we can’t be blamed for wanting to look ahead into the summer. But one organization wants us to look back again.

Friday and Saturday, Boise is playing host to the X Games Qualifier at Rhodes Skate Park. What are the X Games and what does it mean for the city?

The X-Games feature relatively new sports, sometimes called “extreme sports,” including skateboarding and BMX biking. The competition began Friday afternoon, as some Boise streets west of downtown were closed.

In a conference room high about the Boise State University football stadium, Secretaries Perdue and Zinke spoke about land management.

They were introduced by Celia Gould, Idaho's Director of Agriculture, who observed that the Department of Interior and the Department of Agriculture cover a lot of ground in the state. "This is possibly the first time in Idaho's history," she quipped, "that we have had the two largest land-owners in the state."

Friday morning, two U.S. Cabinet members made a visit to Boise. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke appeared at Boise State University. Tom Michael attended the event and sent this report.

As Donald Trump continues on his first major foreign trip as President, statesmanship is in the spotlight. Today we speak with a former State Department official about this moment in U.S. diplomacy.

Steve Feldstein is joining Boise State University to teach in the School of Public Service. In this audio clip, Tom Michael of KBSX News begins by asking him what he thinks of the new Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson.

Wood River Valley residents continued to battle floodwaters over the weekend. Officials distributed sandbags as worried residents moved to fortify their homes throughout Blaine County.

The Big Wood River continued to rush along at flood-level stages. The river hit a peak level on Friday night, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began reinforcing the Broadford levee in Bellevue. On Saturday, Governor Butch Otter arrived in Hailey to meet with local officials.

Each day, librarian Randy Kemp has seen Warm Springs Creek rise and rise by his Ketchum home.

There will be a "teach-in" Thursday, April 26 at noon at the Boise State University library. That's a lesson followed by open discussion.

If that sounds like a throwback to an earlier time, it is. But the topic is very present day - it's about the new energy policy of the Trump administration. It's sponsored by the Center for Idaho History and Politics and it's being presented by Jen Schneider, an associate professor in the School of Public Service.